MicroLED Connect 2026 is set to be the industry's premier event for microLED and next-generation display technologies, taking place on 16-17 September 2026 at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, with a world-class agenda, exhibition and networking opportunities. The event spans three co-located tracks - MicroLED, AR/VR and Optical I/O - covering everything from microLED manufacturing and displays to AR/VR optics and optical interconnects for AI infrastructure.
Here are some of the speakers and themes from the AR/VR track, covering light engines, microdisplays, waveguides, optics and applications across the AR/VR value chain. You can explore the full agenda and event details here.
Setting the scene: AI glasses take center stage
The event opens with keynotes from three of the biggest names shaping the AR glasses conversation. Sony will look at the challenges of democratizing AR glasses, Google will discuss aligning display technology with XR use cases under the banner of "purpose-driven pixels," and Meta will present its perspective on AI glasses. On day two, the Center for Extended Reality at the University of Rochester will look beyond smart display glasses toward a path for comfort, context and depth in spatial computing.
Day one will also feature a panel talk led by display analyst Karl Guttag, bringing together Bernard Kress (Google AR), Berthold Hahn (Meta), Barry Silverstein (CXR) and Radu Reit (Display Training Centre) for a cross-industry discussion on where AR display technology stands today.
Waveguides and optical architectures
A significant share of the agenda is dedicated to the optics that make see-through AR possible - and to making them manufacturable at scale.
Lumus will present its synergistic design approach for micro-LED projectors and waveguides. Optinvent will introduce a molded polymer reflective 2D waveguide aimed at consumer AR, and Cellid will detail advanced technologies for lightweight, high-performance waveguides.
TriLite Technologies will look beyond microLED and LCoS toward laser beam scanning for high-efficiency AR displays, while vitrealab will present Laser-LCoS as its answer to AR smart glasses challenges. CREAL will discuss time-sequential pixel replication and how Laser-FLCoS breaks the resolution-FoV barrier in AR, and Smith Displays Limited will address what it calls the "transparency paradox" of achieving AR in crystal-clear displays.
Oxford Instruments Plasma Technology will present broad ion beam processing for scalable manufacturing of blazed gratings for AR waveguides, and Vuzix will discuss the modern challenges of waveguide design and manufacturing.
From etched device to high-volume manufacturing
Moving waveguides and AI glasses from prototype to production line is its own challenge, and a cluster of process specialists will address exactly that.
Applied Materials will discuss turning breakthroughs into reality, tracing AI glasses from first etched device to high-volume manufacturing. Eulitha will present displacement Talbot lithography as a scalable route to AR waveguide manufacturing, Morphotonics will detail how large-area nanoimprint lithography can be scaled for mass production of AR waveguides and AI glasses, and EV Group (EVG) will look at the role of nanoimprint lithography in AR, from nanostructures to new realities.
Ingantec will present red microLEDs and monolithic full-color integration for AR, medical imaging and AI interconnects. Aledia will discuss high-performance nanowire microLEDs for AR and optical interconnect applications, and QubeDot will introduce large-area CMOS microLED displays.
Testing, metrology and the path to mass adoption
As AR hardware approaches consumer volumes, testing and quality assurance become as important as the optics themselves.
Teradyne will address the challenges of microLED testing. TechnoTeam will present biomimetic metrology lenses for near-eye displays, aimed at diffraction-limited AR/XR quality assurance, and Instrument Systems will discuss optical metrology for microLED displays and wafers, including optimized color-matching functions across technology portfolios.
AlphaLum will introduce camera-free, low-power eye sensing for AI glasses using self-mixing interferometry, and Vizon Tech will lay out what it will take to make augmented reality glasses a mass-adopted reality.
MicroLED Connect 2026: time to reserve your seat!
These are just some of the waveguide, optics and manufacturing talks on this year's agenda. MicroLED Connect 2026 also includes the co-located MicroLED and Optical I/O tracks, giving attendees full access to all three conference tracks and the shared exhibition floor.